Songbird Profit Rises as Tenants Rent More East London Space

March 22 (Bloomberg) -- Songbird Estates Plc, the property
company that controls the Canary Wharf financial district in
east London, said full-year profit rose after it leased more
space. The shares rose the most since Jan. 7.

Underlying profit before tax increased to 23.3 million
pounds ($35.4 million) from 4.6 million pounds a year earlier,
the London-based landlord said in a statement today. Adjusted
net asset value per share rose 5.5 percent to 210 pence as of
Dec. 31 from 199 pence on June 30.

Songbird, owner of London’s largest development pipeline,
has a 69 percent stake in Canary Wharf Group Plc, which has been
expanding outside the business district of the same name. The
company plans to lease more space to technology and media
companies and plans to develop office buildings for them as well
as 3,000 homes at the 20-acre Wood Wharf site next to the
financial district.

“The group is prioritizing market driven, more focused
developments including the major regeneration plans that are
being put in place for Wood Wharf,” Chairman David Pritchard
said in the statement. “The group plans to capitalize on the
global status of London as a business center and to attract and
target growing business sectors; particularly technology and new
media firms.”

Songbird rose as much as 6.6 percent in London trading, the
most since Jan. 7. The shares were up 4.8 percent at 141.75
pence as of 9:24 a.m.

Wood Wharf

Songbird will probably develop homes at Wood Wharf before
it builds the office space, Company Secretary John Garwood said
in a call with reporters today. A masterplan is due to be
submitted for planning approval later this year, he said.

Canary Wharf may exercise its right to buy Riverside South,
the site owned by investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co. since
2008, if it comes on the market, Garwood said. A bid would
depend on the asking price, he said.

The company has the right of first offer if the land is put
on the market before October 2016, according to today’s
statement. Berkeley Group Holdings Plc, the U.K.’s third-largest
homebuilder by market value, is interested in buying the land
for the development of condos, Property Week reported Feb. 22.

Canary Wharf plans to redevelop most of Royal Dutch Shell
Plc’s London headquarters near Waterloo train station in a
venture with Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co. It has had
approaches from investors looking to buy buildings before their
completion, Garwood said. He declined to comment on whether the
approaches had come from existing shareholders.

Qatar, China

Songbird’s largest shareholders include Qatar Holding LLC,
investor Simon Glick of New York, a unit of China Investment
Corp. and funds managed by Morgan Stanley, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg. Its market value is more than 1 billion
pounds.

The value of Songbird’s retail portfolio rose 9.9 percent
last year, compared with a 2.5 percent increase in the office
portfolio. The value of the company’s buildings and land
increased 4.1 percent over the year when adjusted for the
purchase of Wood Wharf and spending.